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The Energy Blog is where all topics relating to The Energy Revolution are presented. Increasingly, expensive oil, coal and global warming are causing an energy revolution by requiring fossil fuels to be supplemented by alternative energy sources and by requiring changes in lifestyle. Please contact me with your comments and questions. Further Information about me can be found HERE.

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September 29, 2006

BP Executive Draws Attention to Climate Change

Vivienne Cox, BP Chief Executive, Gas, Power & Renewables gave a speech on Sept. 27 to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council entitled "Why Clean Electricity Is Critical in Combating Climate Change- Steps to Accelerate America's Low Carbon Power Economy." Some exerpts from her speech are alarming, bring attention the seriousness of our CO2 emmissions and explain what BP is planning to do about them.

The power sector is the world's single largest source of CO2 emissions. Globally, and in the United States it accounts for over 40% of these emissions. That's twice the level of CO2 emissions from the transport sector. ... A recent study projected that global CO2 emissions will be around 75% higher than they are today by 2030. ... One projection by Cambridge Energy Research Associates indicates that power will contribute 50% of total global emissions by 2030 - if there are no significant policy interventions. ... We have bought a wind developer Greenlight. ... Greenlight has a pipeline of 39 development projects across the US with a total potential capacity of 6.5GW. ...

The US, China and India are likely to be responsible for more than half the world's carbon emissions over the coming years. Each has a lot of coal. ... Security of supply concerns means that domestic coal will be seen as a real asset. By 2030 the world will demand twice as much electricity as today - around 8000GW. Just under half of that increase is projected to come from conventional coal-fired power. That's equivalent to 3,600 new coal-fired power stations worldwide, or 12 a month for the next 25 years. One every 60 hours. More than three-quarters of this additional capacity is expected to be built in just two countries: India and China. ... The urgency with which we need to address the coal issue means we can no longer approach this in a business as usual manner with the current long development cycles.

We need to recognize the need for this AND put in place programs or policies that encourage companies like ours to aggressively bring new technologies to market. And do this in as short a time period as possible. For every year we delay the advancement of this technology, a lot of old technology coal plants are built.

What we do is use hydrocarbons to generate hydrogen power. And capture the CO2 and store it securely and safely in underground geological reservoirs. With GE, our ambition is to build 10 to 15 such projects over the next decade.

We have well-developed plans for the first two commercial projects. One of them is in Scotland and, as I mentioned, the other is just a few miles south of here - at our Carson refinery, Los Angeles. ...

the Carson project (previous post)... would cost $1 billion and use petroleum coke as its feedstock ... At the moment much of this coke is loaded onto rail cars and transported ten miles to the docks where it sails to Asia and is burnt for power. In our new power plant, the coke and treated waste water will be converted to hydrogen and CO2. The hydrogen would then be used to fuel a gas turbine to generate electricity - enough for more than 300,000 homes. (500 MW) Meanwhile the CO2 would be captured and transported through a pipeline to an existing oilfield where it would be injected into reservoir rock formations. This stimulates extra oil production and permanently traps the CO2. So it's a triple win.

The American Wind Energy Association reckons that there is enough wind to generate around three times the total electricity consumed today in the US from all sources. ... However, while the US has the natural resources to create energy, they are often thousands of miles from the people who demand it. Wind is strongest in the Great Plains states while the major US demand centers are close to the coasts. Coal is also concentrated in these central regions.

We have a major opportunity to build the infrastructure so that we can generate huge quantities of clean electricity from wind, and clean coal, and send it to market. ... That means we need to be able to get new power out of the Great Plains at a rate of something like 10 to 20 GW a year. ... So we need enabling legislation COMPLETED in the next 2 to 3 years so that we can deliver in the next 5 to 10 years. ...

people say that wind power - and low carbon power in general is too expensive ... Well, it's not. We calculate that the average US home's electricity bill would need to rise around 0.5% each year over twenty years if all new added capacity was domestic, low carbon power. This estimate is based on today's technology and costs. ...

If we're not careful it can become a chicken and egg dilemma. One where the transmission isn't built because the capacity isn't built and so on.